A Look At Santa Clara vs. Long Beach State - NCAA First Round

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – The No. 19 Santa Clara women's soccer team will begin its 21st NCAA Tournament appearance with a first-round contest against Long Beach State at 4:30 p.m. on Fri., Nov. 12 at Stanford's Laird Q. Cagan Stadium. The Broncos, who finished their 30th anniversary season and 28th overall winning season in program history, took second in the West Coast Conference at 12-6-2 overall and 4-3-0 in conference.

Santa Clara received an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament, where it is 41-19-2 all-time and has the seventh-best winning percentage (.677) of any team in tournament history. The Broncos have reached the College Cup 10 times (the third-most out of any D-I team), having won one national title in 2001, finished runner-up in 2002, and taken third place eight times. SCU has also reached the quarterfinals 14 times (including 11-straight times from 1995-2005).

Friday's match will be the sixth meeting in history between the Broncos and 49ers, who are also known as The Beach. The two teams played each other every year from 1982-1986, with Santa Clara taking four of the five matches. The Broncos have never played Long Beach State during Jerry Smith's 24 years as head coach of SCU.

The Beach earned the automatic qualifying bid to the program's second-ever NCAA Tournament by defeating UC Irvine, 1-0, in the Big West Conference tournament. The 49ers finished 14-5-2 overall and 5-2-1 in the Big West. Long Beach State also appeared in the NCAA Tournament in 2008, dropping its first round game to San Diego, 1-0.

Santa Clara is led offensively by senior Anessa Patton (9G + 2A = 20 PTS) and sophomore Lauren Matheson (3G + 4A = 10 PTS). Freshman Julie Johnston led the team in assists (5) and has also scored two goals. Junior Bianca Henninger will return to the net on Friday after having to sit out the regular-season finale. Henninger brings a 0.63 goals-against-average, seven shutouts, and an .854 save percentage into the match. The Broncos have outscored their opponents this season 27-16 and the defense has combined to post a 0.78 GAA and eight shutouts.

The Beach offense is bolstered by Nadia Link's eight goals and Lindsay Bullock's seven. Shawna Gordon leads the team in assists with seven and has also scored four goals. Emily Kingsborough will most likely start in goal on Friday, having played 19 games. Kingsborough carries a GAA of 0.95, five shutouts, and a save percentage of .800. The 49ers scored 33 goals on the season and gave up 22, matching SCU's goal differential of +11. LBSU's defense has a goals-against-average of 1.02.

Sunday NCAA Second Round – Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2 – 1 p.m. (all games played at Stanford's Laird Q. Cagan Stadium)

LIVE COVERAGE: Live stats via CBS College Sports Gametracker will be available for this weekend's SCU matches and can be found on the Santa Clara, Stanford, or Long Beach women's soccer schedule web pages or by clicking here. For more coverage of the NCAA Tournament and the Women's College Cup, click here.

NOTES:
**Santa Clara is 4-1-0 overall against Long Beach State, but has never played them during Jerry Smith's tenure as head coach.
**Jerry Smith is in his 24th season as SCU head coach (368-115-38)
**Goalkeeper Bianca Henninger (7 shutouts, 0.63 GAA) is a candidate for the 2010 MAC Hermann Trophy
**The Broncos played four teams in 2010 that finished ranked in the NSCAA/HendrickCars.com Top 25 and eight teams that received a bid into the NCAA Tournament
**SCU returned six players in 2010 that were named to the WCC's 2009 all-conference teams
**Allie Vernon, Kendra Perry, Lindsey Johnson and Bianca Henninger are the team co-captains
**Henninger and Vernon were named to the 2010 WCC Preseason All-Conference team
**Former Broncos Brandi Chastain and Aly Wagner were added to the coaching staff for 2010

COMPARED TO THE REST OF THE WCC:
Santa Clara finished second in the West Coast Conference with a 4-3-0 record. San Diego also posted a 4-3-0 record, but the Broncos took second by virtue of a head-to-head victory over the Toreros. Senior Anessa Patton finished tops in the conference in overall goals (9), goals-per-game (0.50), and game-winning-goals (5). She also finished second in points-per-game (1.11). Junior goalie Bianca Henninger, who started all but one game in net this season for SCU, owned the best overall save percentage (.854), was second in goals-against-average (0.63), and tied for second in shutouts (7).

The Broncos scored the most goals (5) and points (18) in any single game by any WCC team, coming in a 5-0 win over Gonzaga. Individually, sophomore Olivia Klei recorded the most assists in one game (3, also against Gonzaga), and freshman Sarah Jackson took the most shots in one game (10) against Georgia.

In conference play only, The Broncos finished first in points (39), assists (15), and assists-per-game (2.14). SCU finished in a tie for first with Portland in shots (102), goals (12), and goals-per-game (1.71). The Broncos were second in the WCC in goals allowed (6), goals-against-average (0.86), and shutouts (4). Individually, Patton has the most points (11), points-per-game (1.57), goals (5), goals-per-game average (0.71), and game-winning goals (3). Klei was second in assists (4) and assists-per-game (0.57). Henninger tied for first in shutouts (3) and save percentage (.909) and was second in goals-against-average (0.37) and shutouts-per-game (0.50)

PATTON LEADS THE WAY: Senior Anessa Patton led the team in both goals (9) and game-winning goals (5) in the regular season. Patton was also selected as the WCC Player of the Week after the first weekend of league play for picking up the game-winner in a 1-0 win over San Diego and the WCC Player of the Month for October.

DOIN' THE MATH: Sophomore Lauren Matheson has figured in a seven of Santa Clara's 27 goals, scoring three and providing an assist on four occasions.

FANTASTIC FRESHMEN: Ten of Santa Clara's goals this season have been a direct result of the contribution from this year's rookies. Julie Johnston scored two goals and posted a team-leading five assists in the regular season, while Sarah Jackson scored the game-tying goal against San Jose State and assisted on the game-winner against Oregon. Kelly Jenks also has two goals. Five freshmen have started games this season and two others have seen significant time on the field.

MILLER TIME: Junior Bridgett Miller scored her first career goal as a Bronco on Sunday, Sept. 19, lifting Santa Clara to a 1-0 win over Utah.

AOZASA A TWO-WAY PLAYER: Junior Margueritte Aozasa, who has been stellar in the back for Santa Clara, asserted herself as a two-way player by scoring both of the Broncos' goals against Oregon on corner kicks. Aozasa has started every match this season and has helped the defense to eight shutouts and a 0.78 goals-against-average.

HENNINGER ADDED TO MAC HERMANN TROPHY WATCH LIST: Santa Clara University junior goalkeeper Bianca Henninger has been named to the 2010 Missouri Athletic Club (MAC) Women's Hermann Trophy Watch List, as announced by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). Henninger is one of just five goalkeepers among the 45 players selected for the award's preseason watch list. The honor is considered the highest individual award in intercollegiate soccer. The recipients are selected by NCAA Division I coaches who are members of the NSCAA.

VERNONAND LAPONTE OUT FOR SEASON 2010 WCC Preseason All-Conference selection Allie Vernon, has redshirted this season in order to have more time to properly recover from an injury. Also, junior Jenny LaPonte, who started in seven of her eight matches this season, will miss the rest of the year after a colliding with a Duck defender early in the match against Oregon on Sept. 24.

INSIDE THE TOP 10: Santa Clara entered the 2010 season ranked ninth in the nation according to the preseason poll released by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). This week the Broncos remained out of the top-10, falling from No. 14 to No. 19 after dropping their regular-season finale, 3-2, at Pepperdine.

30th ANNIVERSARY SEASON CELEBRATION The celebration of the 30th anniversary of varsity women's soccer at Santa Clara was held the weekend of Oct. 8-10 with alumni activities held on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
On Friday evening, current players, coaches, and alumni gathered for a celebratory dinner. Saturday afternoon's festivities included alumni mini-games and a kids' clinic on Stanton Field. Saturday night, the Broncos again gathered for a dinner and a toast. On Sunday, the alumni were recognized on the field at halftime of the game against San Diego.

SCU HEAD COACH JERRY SMITH: SCU Head Coach Jerry Smith enters his 24th season at the helm of the Santa Clara women's soccer program in 2010. Although he is most known for the development of his players and teams, Smith also produces success and is the winningest women's soccer coach in Santa Clara history, having compiled a record of 368-115-38 (.743) – in fact Smith ranks among the top-5 winningest coaches in NCAA Division I history. Since taking over the head coaching duties at Santa Clara in the spring of 1987, Smith has built the Bronco soccer program into a national power. For 19 consecutive seasons, his Broncos reached the NCAA Tournament prior to 2008 and have consistently ranked among the top 10 teams in the country. He has taken the Broncos to 10 College Cup Final Fours and a national championship in 2001. In addition, his Bronco teams have won nine West Coast Conference titles.

BRONCOS ADVANCE TO 2009 NCAA THIRD ROUND: After an early-season 2-0 win vs. No. 5 Notre Dame, the Bronco women, who finished the 2009 season ranked No. 10, were awarded for their fantastic play by once again playing in the NCAA College Cup tournament. They beat Michigan State and Oklahoma State at home in the first two rounds. Both games ended in penalty kicks. They ended their season with a battle at No. 1 Stanford, losing 1-0 to the eventual national runner-ups.

FIVE BRONCOS TAKEN IN 2010 WPS DRAFT: Five SCU women's soccer players (four from the Broncos' 2009 roster) were selected in the 2010 Women's Professional Soccer league (WPS) Draft. Jordan Angeli (Boston Breakers – 16th overall), Kiki Bosio (Los Angeles Sol – 22nd overall), Amanda Poach (St. Louis Athletica – 28th overall), Katherine Reynolds (Boston Breakers - #34 overall) and Meagan Snell (Sky Blue FC – 44th overall). Poach was released prior to the beginning of the WPS season, allowing her to return to the Broncos for a sixth year of eligibility. Bosio was picked up by FC Gold Pride when the Sol folded. Snell was released midseason by Sky Blue when the club added players from the folded St. Louis Athletica. Reynolds was released by the Breakers but picked up by the Philadelphia Independence.